July 4

There were no fireworks tonight. No sparklers, in South Africa. There was a rowdy group of American tourists going down Main road, leaning drunkenly out of the bus hollering Happy Fourth of July, but I was not part of that. I was drinking wine and having South African pizza with my friends before hitting the internet café.
Today we visited Stellenbosch and the French Corner of SA. We visited the Huguenot museum as well as the museum of several old colonial Cape Dutch styled homes. In one, there was a room where the slaves slept. While the white Dutch family had cozy beds and quilts, the slaves slept on mats, wore short pants with no shoes, even in the winter, and were threatened with shackles. Remember that “study in contrasts” stuff I was saying. It was evident in Stellenbosch-wine country, where slaves picked the grapes and made wonderful wine. The best part of the day was at the Huguenot museum and French Corner, not because of the museum, but because I got to spend time talking with Xholani, pronounced with the Xhosa click and a K sound. Xholani is out 25 year old grad student and companion for our studies. He reminds me a lot of Darrin, quiet, somewhat shy, until you get to know him. He came from Johannesburg, bad years, as he says. His older sister died when he was born and his name means “to give comfort.” I can only imagine how proud his mother must be of this bright articulate young man. I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for him growing up on the hard streets of Jo-burg, but he is now studying and teaching technology and a great asset to my understanding of SA. This is a short entry, but tomorrow we go to the penguins. I’ll have more then.
Oh, but I did hear about Sarah Palin...hehehehehe!!!!